The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Programs and other content are broadcasted to multimedia devices, such as digital video recorders (DVRs) and other set top boxes, over a multitude of channels. Traditionally, the different channels represented the different frequency bands over which the programs were aired by local television stations. However, with the advent of digital television, televisions stations have largely switched to transmitting content using digitally processed and multiplexed signals, rather than analog signals.
In order for a multimedia device to present content associated with a particular television station, the multimedia device “tunes” to the channel upon which the television station transmits content. Multimedia devices will typically have a hardware or software component, referred to as a “tuner”, which performs the task of tuning to particular channels. In the case of analog transmission, the tuner may filter incoming signals to only those signals traveling within the frequency band associated with a particular television station. In the case of digital television, the tuner demultiplexes the digital signal.
In some cases, television stations operate on virtual channels, channels that differ from the actual channel upon which the signal travels. For example, many digital television tuners use a virtual channel map (also referred to as a virtual channel table) to associate virtual channels to actual channels. As a result, users are able to access channels by employing an input device, such as a remote control, to instruct the multimedia device to tune to the channel associated with a particular virtual channel number. The multimedia device then maps the virtual channel number to an actual channel using the virtual channel map. As a result, a television station may be identified within the digital stream using one channel number, but branded for identification by users with a different channel number. For example, a television station identified by users as “Channel 8” may actually use channel 32 for the underlying transmission protocols and formats, such as ATSC, DVB, ISDB, etc.
In some cases, the content presented by each television station adheres to a particular theme or genre. For example, television stations may specialize in programs concerning local news, science fiction, sports, dramas, documentaries, public access, and so on. In other cases, television stations are associated with television networks from which the television station receives content. For example, a single television network may be associated with multiple television stations spread across a large area in order to reach a greater audience. As a result, users tend to associate television stations not just with the channel number used to access the television station's content, but also with the source or type of content that is aired by the television station. Thus, television stations are often branded with a channel name that serves many of the same purposes as a trademark, engraining the television station into the minds of users and in some cases developing user confidence in the content provided by a particular network, even if that content is presented by different television stations. Channel names are often also trademarked by the television stations or television networks to which they belong. Furthermore, television stations that broadcast content over the air are also subject to a federal requirement to identify themselves at periodic intervals. The designation used for this purpose is often referred to as a “call sign”. Thus, television stations which have call signs will sometimes use their call sign, or a variation thereof, as their channel name.
When the number of channels available to a multimedia device is relatively small, users tend to be able to remember which channel numbers are associated with the television stations and/or content that they want to view. However, the number of channels available to multimedia devices has increased rapidly over the years, with many multimedia devices presently receiving content over hundreds, if not thousands, of different channels. Consequently, many users find it difficult to remember which channel numbers are associated with the television stations or content that they wish to view. To further exacerbate matters, different television stations transmitting content from the same television network often do not transmit the content using the same channel number. Thus, in one geographic area a particular television network's program lineup may be accessed using one channel number, while in another geographic area the same program lineup may be accessed using a different channel number. As a result, users moving from one geographical area to the other may not be familiar with which channel numbers map to channels playing content from a particular television network. Since users who are not familiar with the channel numbers are unable to tune directly to their desired channel, often times such users will resort to “channel surfing” or tuning from channel to channel searching for their desired content. Channel surfing can be a tedious and time consuming process, especially when the number of channels that the user needs to search through is very large.
To assist users with locating programming to view, many multimedia devices provide an electronic program guide (EPG) that displays menus of scheduling information for broadcast programming. In some cases, EPGs allow users to navigate the scheduling information interactively, selecting and discovering dates and times when programs will be airing over the various channels. In addition, EPGs sometimes offer additional information, such as content ratings, genre, and/or short descriptions of each program. However, as the number of channels available to multimedia devices increases, the number of entries within the EPGs increases accordingly.